Basketball fans have many reasons to remember the name Sheryl Swoopes. One is that her last name rhymes with hoops. However, the best reason to remember the former Texas Tech Lady Raider is that she is one of the best female basketball players in the world. Swoopes led her Texas Tech team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in 1993 and earned recognition as the Female College Player of the Year. In 1996 Swoopes earned the honor of representing the United States as a member of the gold medal-winning women's national basketball "Dream Team" at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Following her Olympic experience she joined the Houston Comets and helped lead them to the first ever Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) championship after becoming a mother for the first time.

Growing up

Rhymes with hoops

Sheryl Denise Swoopes was born March 25, 1971, in Brownfield, Texas. Brownfield is...